May 2012 Briefing - HIV & AIDS

Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in HIV & AIDS for May 2012. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.

Evidence for Prevention of HIV Transmission Reviewed

TUESDAY, May 29 (HealthDay News) -- Evidence-based pharmacologic strategies for prevention of HIV transmission include postexposure prophylaxis, pre-exposure prophylaxis, and early initiation of treatment, according to a review published online May 28 in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.

WEDNESDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with HIV/AIDS have a significantly increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), according to a study published in the May 22 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

TUESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- All-cause adult mortality declined more substantially in African countries in which the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program operated more intensively between 2004 and 2008, according to a study published in the May 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue on global health.

TUESDAY, May 8 (HealthDay News) -- Maternal use of the anti-HIV drug tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) does not affect fetal growth but may lead to a delayed effect on infant growth in the first year, according to a study published online Feb. 29 in AIDS.

FRIDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- T cell-based gene therapy for HIV seems safe, with no evidence of vector-induced cell immortalization more than a decade after treatment, according to a study published in the May 2 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

FRIDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- Hospitals seem to be paying greater attention to preventing targeted health care-associated infections (HAIs) as a result of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) nonpayment policy, according to a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.

TUESDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- Clinical studies registered with ClinicalTrials.gov from 2007 and 2010 are predominately small, single-center trials and contain significant heterogeneity in methodology, according to a study published in the May 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.